[vawr-teks] 
[-tuh-seez] . | 1. | a whirling mass of water, esp. one in which a force of suction operates, as a whirlpool. |
| 2. | a whirling mass of air, esp. one in the form of a visible column or spiral, as a tornado. |
| 3. | a whirling mass of fire, flame, etc. |
| 4. | a state of affairs likened to a whirlpool for violent activity, irresistible force, etc. |
| 5. | something regarded as drawing into its powerful current everything that surrounds it: the vortex of war. |
| 6. | (in Cartesian philosophy) a rapid rotatory movement of cosmic matter about a center, regarded as accounting for the origin or phenomena of bodies or systems of bodies in space. |
| vor·tex (vôr'těks') n. pl. vor·tex·es or vor·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz')
[Latin vortex, vortic-, variant of vertex, from vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
vortex vor·tex (vôr'těks')
n. pl. vor·tex·es or vor·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz')
A spiral motion of fluid within a limited area, especially a whirling mass of water or air that sucks everything near it toward its center.
tɛks
